Switchable Striped Sling Satchel {A-Z Series, “S”}

Published: August 22, 2014

I seriously can’t tell you how excited I am to introduce our “S” project today. I also can’t even come close to pick out my favorite part of this awesome, awesome project that is full of “S”‘s! I am seriously in love. I love that it is reversible or switchable, I love the stripes, that it is a satchel and that it has a serious cute factor! Mandy from Sugar Bee Crafts has our Show-N-Tell today, and she is rocking her “S” letter assignment! I mean how awesome is the name alone with 4 incorporated “S”‘s??? She is a rock star! Enjoy!

Hi Everyone! I’m Mandy and I blog over at Sugar Bee Crafts, where you can find awesome crafts and sewing project tutorials – be sure to come check it out! I am Super excited to be here on “S” day, and pushed myself to pull tons of “s”‘s into the project. And so I’m excited to share with you today the Switchable Striped Sling Satchel, in all it’s awesomeness:

If you’ve never attempted to sew a bag before, this is a great one to start with – – the straps are built-in (connected to the bag part – that’s what makes it a “sling”) so that makes it just a little easier to sew. I love the contrasting pieced panel insert, but you could omit that if you wanted. And you can adjust the shape/size to whatever will work best for you. This was for my 9 year old, and she’s modeling it, if that helps you on sizing.

You’ll need:

1 yard main fabric

1 yard contrasting fabric

1 yard fusible batting/interfacing (depending on how thick you would like your bag)

Let’s get started!

So the bad news is that I’m moving, and I already packed away the pattern that I had drawn and used for this bag. BUT, the good new is that the bag is still out. So I tried my best to trace the bag for a pattern – you can find that here as a free download: Sling Bag Pattern

Grab that pattern, then cut 2 main pieces and 2 lining pieces. Also, cut 2 panel main pieces and 2 panel lining pieces. And, cut 2 out of the interfacing as well.

First, sew a contrasting middle panel to one side of each of the main bag pieces, like shown below. Repeat with the lining.

Fuse the interfacing onto the back of those pieces by ironing it with the bumpy side down onto the back of the fabric. This will give your bag more support and stability.

With right sides together, put the two main pieces together and sew up each side (side of the bag part, not the handles part), then repeat with the lining.

Then twist it around just a little to look like the image below, with the handles on the sides and panel in the middle, sew right sides together. Sew along the bottom edge. Repeat for the lining.

To give the bag more of a bottom, I created a box corner. You can see how I did this in the images below – I kind of pinched the side corner of the bag to make a triangle, then sewed it and cut off the extra. I did that for the main bag and the lining.

Now turn the lining right-side out and stick it inside the main fabric bag (which should still be wrong-side out) — this way with the main fabric and lining fabric, right sides are together.

Pin and sew along the front and back “u” shape of the handle. Don’t sew the tops of the handle!

After sewing, clip that seam since it’s curved, just a few short snips (being careful not to cut the stitching) to help it lay better when you turn it, as shown in the picture below:

Now the tricky part – – turn the whole bag right-side out through the little opening in the top of the handle.

You may think this is impossible, but it’s totally doable! Just keep working at it, and you’ll get it:

It’ll come out like this (picture below) – then you’ll just put the lining back inside the main bag where it should go. It’s looking like a bag – almost done!

Let’s finish up the top of the bag – – turn one of the end’s edges inside about a half inch. Then put the unfinished edge inside of the finished one and sew them together. This will make the seam look pretty.

Here’s what that will look like when you’re done sewing it together:

Optional, you can top stitch along the top of the bag. I think it gives it a more finished look, but it’s not a have-to if you’re done with sewing by this point. You can see my top stitching a little in the pic below:

You can do this! Grab some fabric from The Ribbon Retreat and get started! And then come by and see me on my blog, www.SugarBeeCrafts.com! – – Mandy

How awesome is that satchel? I mean seriously so cute right? I am in LOVE with the panel of mismatched stripes on the front and back panel and how incredibly easy it is to create this unique and fashion forward bag! Thank you Mandy for sharing this awesome “S” project and for sharing your incredible talent with us today! For more crazy creative crafts by Mandy, make sure to visit her at Sugar Bee Crafts!

I think this little satchel is just the thing for your kiddo’s, and their back to school adventures. This bag would also be perfect for those trips to the library, piano lessons, dance lessons, or to simply sling over their shoulders to go to the mall. This satchel is just way too cute!!!

These types of bags are some of my favorites, with the long strap and reversible option! Here are a couple more sling bags that super cute too, you might just like as well…

What is your favorite thing about this Switchable Striped Sling Satchel? Mine is the stripes!